Eye of the Tornado
by Mudshadow
Summary: DISCONTINUED. PLEASE IGNORE.
1. Allegiances

_I do not own Warriors. It belongs to Erin Hunter._

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**Allegiances:**

**SolarClan:**

Leader: Mudshadow - brown she-cat with black tabby stripes; deep blue eyes

Deputy: none

Med. Cat: Spottedwing - black she-cat with yellow/orange markings on legs; hazel eyes

Warriors:

Swiftheart - small white tom with orange splotches; light blue eyes  
apprentice: Ravenpaw

Apprentices:

Ravenpaw - black tom with strange gray marking on chest; ice blue eyes

Queens: none

Kits: none

Elders: none

**LunarClan:**

Leader: Pinestar - dark gray she-cat with a light gray face and brown legs; cheerful green eyes

Deputy: Beetlestep - handsome red tom with a cream colored chest; bright blue eyes

Med. Cat: Cloudfoot - big white tom; stunning amber eyes  
apprentice: Songpaw

Warriors:

Hazelsong - pretty brown she-cat with light brown splotches; bright hazel eyes

Ashcloud - light gray tom with one big dark gray splotch on chest; icy blue eyes

Cedarstripe - glossy red tom with white front paws; fiery amber eyes  
apprentice: Gempaw

Bogpoppy - small white she-cat with light gray almost white legs and tail tip; shiny blue eyes  
apprentice: Starpaw

Sunfall - dark gray she-cat with light gray legs, tail tip, and face; bright yellow eyes - mate: Bloodfang

Earthdapple - handsome brown tom with dark red face; piercing amber eyes

Smokefire - light gray tom with red paws and tail tip; dull green eyes  
apprentice: Dawnpaw

Apprentices:

Gempaw - glossy black tom; bright amber eyes - mother: Willowstorm

Dawnpaw - dark gray and light gray tabby she-cat; bright amber eyes - mother: Sunfall

Starpaw - black as midnight she-cat; cheerful yellow eyes

Songpaw - gorgeous white she-cat with light brown tiger stripes; shiny dark brown eyes

Queens:

Milktail - beautiful creamy she-cat with pale white stripes and tail; shiny green eyes - expecting - mate: Beetlestep

Willowstorm - gray and white tabby she-cat; beautiful light blue eyes - expecting - mate: Smokefire

Kits: none

Elders: none

**MoonClan:**

Leader: Crimsonstar - light gray tom with a red paws and tail tip; gorgeous amber eyes

Deputy: Leaf-foot - stuck-up, brown and silver tabby she-cat; icy blue eyes  
apprentice: Striderpaw

Med. Cat: Maplewing - gorgeous white she-cat with light brown splotches; ice blue eyes  
apprentice: Oakpaw

Warriors:

Moonshadow - powerful, glossy black tom with gray paws and tail tip; deep blue eyes  
apprentice: Patchpaw

Cloverpelt - creamy white she-cat with light red and orange stripes; bright hazel eyes  
apprentice: Tunnelpaw

Galesong - pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with a white underbelly; bright green eyes

Eaglestream - handsome golden-brown tom and white face; stunningly bright gold eyes

Lightfoot - pretty brown she-cat with orange/yellow paws and tail tip; bright yellow eyes  
apprentice: Foxpaw

Blacktail - handsome light gray tom with a black tail; bright green eyes

Apprentices:

Foxpaw - handsome maple looking light brown tom with a white underbelly and tail tip; bright yellow eyes - mother: Autumnwing

Tunnelpaw - handsome black tom with a brown underbelly and tail; deep blue eyes - mother: Autumnwing

Patchpaw - pale white tom with black and dark gray splotches; bright green eyes - mother: Grasswhistle

Striderpaw - gray and white tabby she-cat; gorgeous amber eyes - mother: Snowcloud

Oakpaw - beautiful white she-cat with light brown legs; bright yellow eyes - mother: Snowcloud

Queens:

Grasswhistle - pale white and gray tabby she-cat; pretty hazel eyes - nursing - mate: Blacktail

Autumnwing - gorgeous maple looking light brown she-cat with a white underbelly, legs, and brown paws; yellow eyes - expecting - mate: Moonshadow

Snowcloud - pretty pale white she-cat with light brown spots on flank; bright yellow eyes - expecting - mate: Crimsonstar

Kits:

Elmkit - pale white and gray tabby tom; shiny hazel eyes - mother: Grasswhistle

Hollykit - glossy black she-cat with gray tail; bright green eyes - mother: Grasswhistle

Elders:

Skycloud - once handsome blue/silver tom with a white face and chest; blue eyes


	2. Sigh

_Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter, not me._

**Chapter 1 - Sigh  
**

Mudshadow sighed.

_'Now what am I  
supposed to do?'_

As the wind lightly ruffled the brown and black she-cat's fur, she stood on a small hill on the edge of her camp. Well, what used to be her camp. The SolarClan deputy had gone out to clear her mind of some thoughts in the middle out the night, and came back to see something horrible; suicide worthy even.

A tidal wave had struck the SolarClan camp. All the cats were dead, up in EclipseClan. Mudshadow had arrived back at camp about the break of dawn, when she had heard a crashing noise through the dense forest. She had cried for the heavens know how long. Up at the top of the ravine, Mudshadow looked down on the Armageddon-struck beach where she and her clan used to live, as the wind blew gently through her fur. She had already buried the cats whose bodies had not gotten swept into the large lake around the island. Mudshadow had already planned that she would pay her respects later when she got the energy to do so. Not that she needed that much, but the brown and black cat did not feel up to it just yet; it was like accepting her clan -her _whole_ clan- was actually gone. Not to mention forever, but that's beside the point.

Mudshadow slowly but steadily made her way back down the small hill, back down to the sandy beach. Feeling the sand between her paws gave Mudshadow some comfort, reminding her of when she was still young, when everyone was alive. Staring out at the surrounding lake, the brown and black she-cat barely noticed when there was a small rustling sound coming a little ways behind her, but her subconcious dismissed it as the light breeze.

"Mudshadow..."

The said deep blue-eyed she-cat turned her head to the right, in the direction of the voice. She didn't dare move a single muscle. The voice's owner had come from her life-long best friend, the one since kit-hood, the one who faced harsh treatments with her, the one who was the mentor of her favorite apprentice/other best friend, the one who she believed she had lost.

"Swiftheart..."

"Mudshadow!"

The two cats tackled each other playfully in their happiness that they were still alive. Mudshadow was thinking that at that point, it was the happiest moment of her life. The two SolarClan cats played with one another for what felt like an eternity in both cats' minds, but it was really only about a few minutes. The white and orange form of Swiftheart tackled her to the soft, sandy ground harmlessly, making Mudshadow fall on her back, some sand accidentally entering her ears. Swiftheart suddenly stopped like he just remembered something.

"Get SunClan's medicine cat," Swiftheart meowed quickly, out of breath, his grin disappearing.

"What for? You're fine," Mudshadow replied still laying on her back, also out of breath, but her smile not disappearing. The tabby she-cat shook her feline head in attempt to oust the sand clogging her ears.

"Not for me, for Ravenpaw."

That took the grin off Mudshadow's face as she froze in mid-shake. Ravenpaw had been her other best friend.

"…He's alive?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, now go, and hurry!" Swiftheart called over his shoulder as he made his way to a fallen birch tree, where Mudshadow guessed Ravenpaw was.

Swiftly climbing back onto all four paws, the SolarClan she-cat charged through the sand that made up their old camp, and into the forest where her clan had hunted. Its large size was usually considered a good thing, but at that moment, Mudshadow was cursing at it for slowing her down. Not to mention that no matter which clan's territory is closer to your territory, all the clan's camps are exactly the same length away, even the opposing clan. Mudshadow guessed that Swiftheart had told her to get SunClan's medicine cat because MoonClan and LunarClan warriors were known to be quite hostile. Not to mention the fact that the SunClan medicine cat was a really good friend of both the SolarClan cats left alive and unharmed.

Passing the volcano in the middle of the island, Mudshadow ignored the large, heated rock formation, passing into SunClan territory. The tabby SolarClan she-cat prayed to EclipseClan that she would not be seen as a threat. Dashing through the SunClan forest, something familiar began to show itself to Mudshadow, but she decided to ignore it, choosing Ravenpaw's life over her own curiosity.

It did not take too much longer to reach the SunClan camp. Mudshadow paused at the entrance to the beach, bewildered that no guards were standing there. Befuddled, the brown SolarClan she-cat pushed her way through the entrance made of undergrowth, out onto the beach where the SunClan camp had been for generations. As she rustled the foliage as she passed through, Mudshadow heard a single surprised hiss coming from the clearing. Finally bursting through the end of the entrance, the she-cat was met with a surprising sight.

The SunClan medicine cat, Spottedwing, was standing at the edge of the clearing, her back arched and her teeth bared. Once she saw that Mudshadow, a good friend of hers, had been the one to surprise her, the multi-colored she-cat relaxed her tense, defensive pose, her head slightly tilted in puzzlement.

"Mudshadow?"

"Hey, Spottedwing," Mudshadow mumbled, uncomfortable with the situation her friend did not know she was in, "This may seem blunt, but -"

Mudshadow trailed off, noticing that there were no other cats in the SunClan camp. She turned her head in all directions, trying to spot at least one set of curious eyes peering at the SolarClan she-cat, but Mudshadow found none.

"Tidal wave," Spottedwing dead panned sadly, answering the tabby's unspoken question.

The brown tabby she-cat was suddenly over-flowing with empathy. Taking the situation in carefully, Mudshadow took a couple hesitant steps forward.

"Spottedwing," Mudshadow whispered urgently, her head slightly bowed, "I'm sorry. I really am, but you need to help me." Desperation swam around in the tabby's deep blue eyes, "The same situation is going on at my camp, but two of my clan-mates are alive. However, one is hanging on by a cobweb. He won't live without your help."

"...Then I better hurry," Spottedwing mewed hesitantly, taking all the information in. The SunClan medicine cat dashed around to a drenched, entangled bush. Mudshadow assumed it was where the SunClan medicine den had once been.

Spottedwing came dashing out of the bush a moment later, charging past Mudshadow instead of waiting for her. The somewhat shocked SolarClan warrior followed on the frantic medicine cat's tail. They took the exact same route as Mudshadow had taken before, but for some reason, it seemed to pass a bit quicker.

When they got to the old SolarClan camp, Swiftheart greeted them with a worried expression spread across his muzzle as he appeared from the fallen tree Mudshadow had noticed earlier. Leading the two she-cats back into the tree, they discovered Ravenpaw's young, black, unconscious body in the middle of a spacious clearing, between the branches, on the soft ground of the beach. Even Mudshadow could tell his breathing was shallow, and if he did not have treatment done on him soon, he was a goner. Swiftheart and Mudshadow stood at the side, both impatiently watching Spottedwing as she applied poultices to the apprentice and coaxed his throat so Ravenpaw would swallow some type of herb that was supposed to help his breathing. When she was done, she turned to the two concsious SolarClan cats, with a hopeful look on her furry face, relieving the two cats, at the side, of their worry. Ravenpaw would be alright.

The last rays of sunlight poured through the branches of the fallen birch tree as Mudshadow turned her head toward her companions.

"You two get some sleep. I'll keep watch from outside," the black and brown tabby meowed softly, turning towards the exit in the branches.

Coming outside of the fallen tree, Mudshadow laid down in the soft sand of her home. Staring out at the lake as the sun's golden rays dropped upon it, she let out a sigh of relief.

* * *


	3. Join the Race

_Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter, not me._

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Join the Race**

"Mudshadow. Mudshadow," Spottedwing meowed urgently, jabbing the tabby she-cat's side with her paw in attempt to wake the SolarClan she-cat from her peaceful slumber.

The said brown tabby groaned as her deep blue eyes cracked open a little bit. Closing them once more, Mudshadow slowly lifted herself into a sitting position. Once again opening her eyes, she blinked a few timed to clear the blurriness from them. The black and brown she-cat turned her head to her right to look at the other side of the capacious clearing in the fallen tree the four cats had decided to stay in until they figured out what they should do. Her tired eyes met the sight of Swiftheart endeavoring to wake Ravenpaw.

The day before, the small group of surviving cats had a joyous and sorrowful meeting with one another once Ravenpaw had come out of unconsciousness. After that, it had been a slow day. The four cats had gone to the border near the volcano just incase the other clans were there. The small group had not spotted any during the time they were there. The four _had_ gotten some good hunting done, but that had been the only highlight of the day.

"What?" a young, exhausted, and irritated voice suddenly broke through her thoughts. Mudshadow focused her eyes to see the small black form of Ravenpaw wake up from his sleep.

"Finally," Swiftheart meowed, just as agitated, "I never knew you were such a deep sleeper."

Mudshadow sighed hopelessly, thinking,_ "Great. Is _everyone_ on edge?"_

"Will you three listen up?!" Spottedwing shouted at the rest of them.

"_That's a yes,"_ Mudshadow sarcastically commented in her mind while swiping a paw over her ear. It was only then did the brown tabby feline turn her exhausted stare to the medicine cat.

"You need to hear this," Spottedwing mewed slowly once all attention had focused on her, "EclipseClan sent me a dream last night."

"What were the details?" a fully woken Mudshadow meowed so quickly, she was not sure if she interrupted or not.

"All I remember is that I was standing on the edge of a large gorge, looking down into it. There was voice that was talking as well. It said 'Only the followers of the one who sleeps can save them'," the medicine cat had her muzzle pointed to the ground in befuddlement.

"…We need to rebuild the clans," Mudshadow whispered, almost inaudibly.

"What?" Swiftheart asked disbelievingly.

"You heard me. I may not know whom the 'one who sleeps' is," Mudshadow paused, as if for dramatic affect, "But I do know that they're telling us to help recreate SolarClan and SunClan."

"I think Mudshadow may be right," Spottedwing interrupted.

"…We're leaving right after the gathering; that way we can tell the LunarClan and MoonClan," Mudshadow mewed, immediately deciding that would be the best time to leave.

All four cats went silent. During the middle of the blanket of silence, Ravenpaw had opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it on second thought. After a few more moments, the cats settled into a comfortable silence and they soon found themselves wandering to the meager pile of fresh-kill the cats had managed to catch the day before. No one spoke throughout their entire meal, which they ate slowly, but a  
few minutes after they all had finished and Mudshadow had settled down next to  
Ravenpaw, once again in hopes to get some more sleep, Swiftheart asked her a  
question out of the blue.

"Mudshadow," the orange and white tom deliberated before continuing, albeit hesitantly, "Since our leader, Beechstar, died…" Siftheart paused once more, but probably figuring he had to go somewhere with his question, he carried on, "Wouldn't you be leader now?"

Mudshadow stared at him for a moment, letting her mind absorb the question. She turned her feline head towards Ravenpaw, who was comfortably lying in the sand about a tail length away. The young black apprentice was staring at her with his curious ice blue eyes.

"Yeah, I guess I would be," the tabby she-cat peered back toward her warrior friend, "_However_, I'm not getting my name anytime soon."

"Why not?" Ravenpaw queried, his ice blue eyes once again curiously piercing Mudshadow's brown and black fur.

"Well, if I become the leader of SolarClan _now_, I wouldn't be much of a  
leader as I would be if I had a whole clan to back me up, if you know what I  
mean," Mudshadow meowed thoughtfully, her eyes drifting anywhere but her friends' eyes.

"That's actually a good idea. That way your leadership will actually mean something," Spottedwing approved, and Mudshadow nodded her thanks.

"It _does_ make sense," Ravenpaw agreed once he heard his friend's reason, averting his gaze into the branches of the fallen tree.

"I don't know," Swiftheart pondered doubtfully, "If you got your name, you would  
also get your nine lives, and have a better chance of surviving when we go on  
the journey."

"But if we get the new clans, that should be when I should get my name and nine  
lives," the brown feline reasoned, "Because that would be when my clan would need me the most."

Swiftheart decided to grunt his admittance, making his two female companions chuckle.

"The gathering is in two days," Spottedwing meowed to her three friends, a grin still apparent on her muzzle, "We can tell the other clans we're leaving, and hopefully we can trust them not to invade our territory when we leave."

"Alright, we'll stay here for the next couple days. _Then_ we'll leave," Mudshadow voiced her earlier decision.

"We _do_ need to figure out something to say to MoonClan and LunarClan though," Ravenpaw informed the other cats.

"I'll think of something when I'm under the pressure of every cat's stare," Mudshadow dismissed playfully with a flick of her tail, before turning serious, "But there is one thing I need ask you three," the brown and black she-cat deliberated, "None of you want to stay behind right?"

"Of course not," all three of Mudshadow's companions meowed in unison, all shocked that she had asked them that. The brown tabby feline mentally cursed herself for being so paranoid.

"Good," Mudshadow flashed them all a cheesy grin before turning to Spottedwing, "Spottedwing, could you go around with Ravenpaw to collect anything useful that might be around camp while Swiftheart and I go hunting?" the female leader queried the medicine cat. Swiftheart, not having known about his hunting with Mudshadow, turned to the tabby, playfully glaring at her.

"Of course," Spottedwing meowed, bowing her head.

Mudshadow nodded her thank you, and then flicked her tail at Swiftheart, telling him to leave the tree with her. Letting the tabby she-cat go first, the two SolarClan cats crawled their way through the disarray of branches. Finally freeing herself from the tree's leafy clutches, she stood to the side of the entrance waiting for her white and orange friend.

"So where are we going hunting?" Swiftheart asked Mudshadow as he dragged himself out of the branches, wincing as his fur was most likely entangled in between some branches.

"We're not going hunting," the brown and black feline whispered.

Swiftheart gave Mudshadow a look telling her to elaborate.

"We're going to the volcano; I need to talk to EclipseClan."

"…" the tom hesitated, taking in her explanation, before his face broke into a large, eager grin, "Well, then let's get going."

Swiftheart leaped away into the forest, heading towards the volcano in the middle of the island, leaving Mudshadow to chase him in pursuit.


	4. Careful

_Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter, not me._

* * *

Chapter 3 - Careful

It had only been a few moments before Swiftheart had run so fast up ahead, that Mudshadow could not see him through the trees and undergrowth anymore. The tabby slowed to an average pace, knowing that Swiftheart would not enter the volcano without her there if the orange and white cat got to the entryway before she did. Mudshadow could hear Swiftheart beginning to trot far up ahead. It sounded like heavy raindrops, crashing down onto a thick log from a high tree branch. Suddenly, the raindrops stopped dripping from way high up; the tom had stopped in his tracks. Mudshadow hoped his only motive was to wait for her. Which, of course, it was. The brown and black she-cat soon learned this when she finally caught up to him a minute later. However, as soon as she did catch up with him, the warrior took off running again.

The two SolarClan cats repeated the said process a few more times before they came to the volcano, where the Tunnel of Flames – the place where all clan cats went to talk to EclipseClan, otherwise known as the clan that holds the spirits of all four clans' passed ancestors – was.

Swiftheart had stopped to wait for Mudshadow at the entrance to the lava mountain. It took her few moments to arrive from the forest, but when she did, the she-cat hesitated as she approached the entrance. She glanced at her companion, an apprehensive look spread across her face, then walked into the fire-lit tunnel, leading to the pit of the volcano, Swiftheart at her paws. Cracks in the ground and pools and small rivers of fiery magma easily lit the otherwise dark, ample, underground passageway.

Swiftheart suddenly let loose a deafening caterwaul as he accidentally stepped on one of the many tiny cracks in the hard rock that were overflowing with lava.

"Careful in here Swiftheart!" Mudshadow screamed over his yowling, and mewed softer once he had calmed down, "You need to watch your paws in here; one wrong move or a tumble over your own paws could scorch your fur."

"Well I know that _now_. You could've told me before we went in here," Swiftheart retorted, now limping on three legs.

"I know. But it was just too tempting to see what you would do," Mudshadow fired back with a slight chuckle in her tone of voice.

"You mean 'what the volcano would do to me'," the burnt, limping, white and orange tom muttered under his breath, meaning for the she-cat in front of him not to hear it.

Too bad.

"Yes, because it the _volcano's_ fault that you stepped on something your nerves didn't find comforting. Of course," Mudshadow retorted, the sarcasm flowing without restraint in her voice.

"Oh look, we're here. Too bad this conversation has to come to an end," Swiftheart meowed quickly as they approached the hollow in the supposable center of the volcano, eager to not have his clan-mate have more fun by tantalizing him with her words.

Mudshadow ignored him by quickly trotting forward, anticipation running in her veins. She wanted – needed – to talk to EclipseClan. The black and brown tabby easily found the large mass of cooled, hardened magma near the enormous lake of lava in the center of the cavern; it was effortless finding the mass of black stone since the cave was so bright due to the lava lake. The said she-cat quickly curled up beside the hardened lava, and pressed both her forepaws up against the warm, black mound. Unconsciousness conquered her thoughts and her mind almost immediately.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry this is so short! :C And I'm also sorry to say the next chapter will probably be even shorter. But from then on, I think they'll be longer... C:**


	5. Favorites

_Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter, not myself._

* * *

Chapter 5 - Favorites

"Well, this doesn't happen everyday," Spottedwing meowed, staring uncaringly towards the surrounding lake.

"You've been here for two days," Ravenpaw retorted, "Actually, scratch that. Not _even_ two days."

"And if I hadn't been here you'd be dead," smirked the multi-colored she-cat.

Ravenpaw groaned in response to the medicine cat from where he was trying to fall asleep beside the fallen birch tree. He had grown tired waiting for Swiftheart and Mudshadow to come back from their "hunting" trip, so he decided to take a short nap, but it was proved impossible when there was a worried, talkative medicine cat around. The said black and gray tom was with Spottedwing outside of the fallen, still damp tree the four cats had used to sleep in earlier.

"I wonder where they are," Spottedwing mewed almost to herself, still staring out at the encompassing mass of water, but being as irritated as he was, Ravenpaw felt obligated to comment.

"I'm wondering where _you_ are," the black apprentice fired, shifting in the sand so his back, that had been pressed against the branches of the fallen tree, was facing the apprehensive medicine cat. He smirked in satisfaction when he heard Spottedwing lividly huff in indignity.

The two arguing cats had waited for what had seemed like an eternity for Mudshadow and Swiftheart to return, but they still had not. Ravenpaw knew that they would not run off and leave him and Spottedwing, ignoring the fact that they would have nowhere to go, or be stupid enough to be caught by an opposing clan, but that did not stop the dark-furred apprentice from worrying.

The cool air of dusk bore down on the irritated cats, only reminding them of how long their Clan-mates had been missing. The last time the two had seen their companions was when they left the tree to go hunting, and that had been at sun-high. Despite their situation, Ravenpaw sprawled out across the beach sand unperturbedly, his left forepaw placed lazily over his face and his back still facing the aggravated medicine cat.

He did not show it, but the black and gray tom was really the one worrying. Spottedwing was as well, but not silently. Ravenpaw was _really_ starting to get annoyed by the animated but irate medicine cat; she had never exactly been one of his favorite cats.

Of course, being exasperated and anxious did not help Ravenpaw fall asleep. All he could do was stare at the sand beneath his face with his one open eye and blink every few seconds. It was not until the stars really began shining that he decided he should get some sleep, especially if Mudshadow and Swiftheart were not back by dawn.

* * *

**I told you this would be even shorter :C But fortunately, they get longer from here on out, and the next chapter might be posted later today, so just... idk wait.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Overslept

Mudshadow woke up like she was coming out of a reverie; startled when something was calling her. She raised her head in the direction in the voice. It was Swiftheart, standing at the opening to the cave where they had arrived at awhile earlier. He facing to the tunnel, which made her uncertain if he was calling to her. Mudshadow's forepaws quickly dragged themselves up into a sitting position, which got Swiftheart's undivided attention.

"Mudshadow, I think we overslept."

The talked to, confused she-cat suddenly jumped up to all four paws and stumbled her way, quickly and disoriented, to the tunnel ahead. She tried to look for the mouth of tunnel, but it was too far away from her.

"Come with me, Swiftheart."

With the small tom-cat behind her, Mudshadow made her way slowly through the fire-lit tunnel, not watching her paws, and not giving notice when they got scorched, as painful as it was.

They soon reached the end of the tunnel of fire. The sun was barely visible in the still somewhat dark sky. The patrols of the other clans would be out marking their borders, and most importantly, Ravenpaw and Spottedwing would be up by now.

"It's just a little past dawn," Swiftheart mewed quietly in the tabby she-cat's brown ear, "At least one of them will be up, keeping watch."

Without a whisper of a word of neither agreement or disagreement, she charged her way into the forest, still dizzy from her earlier unconsciousness. Apparently, she went the wrong way.

"Mudshadow, what are you doing? That's MoonClan territory!"

Mudshadow stopped in her tracks with a puzzled look across her muzzle. Slowly taking his words in, she turned to look at the ground, then to the left, then right, and last of all behind her, where Swiftheart was waiting for her to react in a defensive position. She made sense of his words at that moment in time, but unfortunately, it was too late.

A feminine voice sounded in front of her.

"Well well, how strange. Look what we have here."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Surrounded

"That's it! I'm going to look for them!" Ravenpaw tried to sound just abnormally mad, but he failed largely; his words came out as a roar.

He quickly ran out of the dense, dying tree, and charged blindly out into the forest. He was making such a racket that he was sure cats in LunarClan could hear him and Spottedwing as she called his name, telling him to stay.

"Ravenpaw stop!"

The said black cat halted suddenly in his tracks, skidding a bit, but swiftly, albeit not gracefully, gaining his balance again. Spottedwing burst from the shrubbery behind him and grabbed his tail between her teeth and started to pull back, just as Ravenpaw realized what she was doing.

"Get back!"

"No."

He ripped himself free and tore through forest without another thought. Spottedwing began to pursue him again as he rampaged. Ravenpaw knew by now that Spottedwing would only follow him if he ran; so he did. He charged through the undergrowth, undoubtedly scaring prey and trampling the objects in his path. He could tell Spottedwing was still chasing him in pursuit; she was making just as much noise as he was.

Ravenpaw was nearing the volcano as something pounced less than gracefully on him. As luck would have it, not only was he nearing the volcano, but there was also a ledge about a tail length ahead. His legs buckled right as he was about to leap down from it. Ravenpaw and whatever was on top of him went tumbling down the ledge from the tackle. Fortunately, the ledge was only a couple tail lengths itself, so the impact wasn't too bad.

He let out a caterwaul as he went down the stoop with his assailant. They both landed with a thud at the bottom, and they didn't move.

To him, it only took about a nanosecond for Ravenpaw to regain consciousness, which in reality, was true. When he did, he slowly lifted his head to look around for his mugger, which to no surprise, turned out to be Spottedwing. Ravenpaw was on her right, so she was lying on her right side, facing away from him, seemingly unconscious.

Ravenpaw struggled to get up; the rampage he had started, that had finished moments before, was just starting to take effect on him; it had been tiring; their territory was quite large, which was good, or else the other clans would have more hunting grounds. His legs buckling and the tumble down what felt like a ravine were added bonuses to his pain as well.

Ravenpaw eventually managed to get to all four of his paws, but now he had to wake up the "sleeping" cat several tail lengths away. His mind screamed for him to stop, but he kept taking small paw steps to the said unconscious cat lying in the forest debris.

When he finally got to Spottedwing, he hesitantly prodded her with his paw. His muscles were a bit looser now, so he wasn't in as much pain.

"Spottedwing, you need to wake up. We need to get to the border, to the volcano; I have a strange feeling the Swiftheart and Mudshadow are over near there."

"I know," even as she was coming to, Spottedwing still seemed to have heard the young tom next to her, "Apprentices are absolutely not allowed in the volcano unless they're either becoming a warrior, or their leader has invited them in; and you…" she trailed off, as if for dramatic effect, "are an apprentice, as you should know, and if you don't, you are quite slow."

Ravenpaw grimaced at her last few words then walked a little ways away towards the border. He turned back to see if she was managing to get up, and she was, so Ravenpaw continued on his way to the volcano.

It wasn't long before Ravenpaw picked up the scent of MoonClan cats. He knew Spottedwing couldn't detect it in the air though, as she was calmly padding forward as she had been doing seconds before. Ravenpaw didn't want to be heard, so he whispered.

"Spottedwing, I can smell MoonClan. Let's hurry up, but keep quiet."

Spottedwing nodded in response as the two cats started to trot swiftly, but quietly, across the forest floor; almost the exact opposite of what they were doing before they fell from the ledge.

Before Ravenpaw realized they were so close to the volcano, he emerged from the forest foliage out into the volcano's grassy terrain around it.

But he didn't care about that. Something that stood in the middle of the terrain horrified him.

Spottedwing emerged few moments later, and at the sight of his expression – his widened ice blue eyes, his slightly agape mouth, his ears flattened against his head – she gave him a confused expression. Though when she understood the fact that he was staring at something, she soon followed his gaze to the scene of what was horrifying him.

Mudshadow and Swiftheart were surrounded by a MoonClan patrol of five.


End file.
